Rainy Days
by daughter-of-Myou
Summary: Dumped by Mikaela, unable to find a job in the city, and stuck indoors due to a sudden downpour, Sam is melancholic. Ever loyal and concerned for his human friend, Bumblebee attempts to cheer him up by taking him out for a drive. Pre-DotM; one-shot.


"Great – that's just great," sighed Sam. He sank onto the cluttered bench in his garage, running a frustrated hand through his hair as he stared out across the rain-drenched yard. "The second I get my car back from the wash, the heavens decide to open. Who knows what kind of garbage is in the atmosphere? It's probably full of sand from that storm in the desert a few weeks ago – I don't want you getting all dirty again right after I paid good money to have you cleaned up."

Sitting on the floor beside him, hunched over but still filling most of the garage nonetheless, Bumblebee gave a dry whining sound through his semi-functional vocal processors. In all honesty, he couldn't care less about the weather – his friend's well-being and happiness took priority over all else. He watched Sam glower out at the downpour, studying the human's disheartened posture in concern.

Bumblebee was truly thankful that he had been allowed to stay with Sam in his new home, despite all of the danger and trauma the human had faced after being caught up in the Autobot-Decepticon conflict. Sam had matured much since first becoming involved in the battles; Bumblebee had watched him grow from an uncertain teenager into a responsible young man across the four years that they had known each other – one responsible enough to move out of the Witwicky home and into the city in search of a job. He viewed Sam almost as a brother – a true friend – someone he would give his life to protect if the situation required it.

Such an extreme a sacrifice was not necessary at that moment in time – but Bumblebee still felt obliged to cheer him up in some way. After all, he knew that the rain wasn't the only thing on Sam's mind. Moving to the city had opened many new doors for the human; but in exchange, he had been forced to close and tightly lock several old ones. The one that led to his already-strained relationship with Mikaela, for example. She hadn't taken the news that he was moving even further away too well; she hadn't even come to say goodbye or wish him luck in his job-hunt. Sam, in turn, hadn't mentioned her once since the move, and Bumblebee had been too afraid to touch on the subject for fear of upsetting his young friend.

Bumblebee only had a basic grasp of the concept of romantic bonds between humans, but understood enough to know that 'break-ups' were never easy. He himself missed Mikaela an awful lot – she was the second of the very few humans he had ever befriended, after all – even if Sam liked to pretend that she didn't exist. And though he knew it was selfish of him, Bumblebee couldn't help but feel a little hurt by how quickly she had turned her back on the Autobots.

The scout dragged his thoughts back to reality, and found himself staring at Sam's slouched back. No doubt the human, too, was preoccupied with thoughts of the girl he once loved. Bumblebee inclined his head to the side, and began to shift through the stations of his radio in hopes of lightening the mood.

'– _so nice, we play it twice. Stay tuned, because coming up next – it's not any old motorcycle, so why give it any old insurance? Give your motorcycle the care it deserves – the rain will continue to fall late into the night, with some regions expecting several centimetres to build up by morning. Many coastal areas are being warned –'_

"Not helping, 'Bee," grumbled Sam, twisting his upper torso to shoot a dull glance toward the Autobot. The scout flinched and shut off his radio at once, shoulders sinking in silent apology. After a moment filled only with the relentless splattering of rain on concrete, Sam leaned back on the bench and let out a lengthy sigh. "'Several centimetres', huh? Hope it's nicer where mom and dad are…you know they went on another vacation, 'Bee? It's like they couldn't wait to get rid of me or something. Ever since we moved, for them it's been vacation after vacation. Life's great for some, right? They're off chugging sangria in Vegas, and here I am stuck in this tiny little garage with you."

Offended, Bumblebee crossed his servos and let out a huffy wheeze in protest.

Sam gave a start upon realising what he had said, and quickly span around in his seat to face the scout. "Aw, come on," he bargained, awkward. "You know I didn't mean it like that; I meant that you're stuck inside, too. You're an Autobot – a giant transforming muscle-car from another planet. You shouldn't be cooped up in here all the time."

Bumblebee pointed deliberately out of the open garage door, swiftly re-tuning his radio. _'– what are you waiting for, kid? Get out there and see the world!'_

Sam raised an eyebrow, confused. "Wait – you actually _want_ to go outside in this?" he asked. The Autobot nodded his head, half-rising to his feet only to drop back down into vehicle mode less than two seconds later. Sam similarly stood up as the last few panels of Bumblebee's amber-gold chassis clunked into place, exasperated. "But we just got you back from the carwash! Come on, 'Bee – unemployed and strapped for cash here. I just spent most of what little money I have getting you cleaned up, and you wanna go right back out there and get rained on?"

Bumblebee let another whine escape his faulty vocoder, creeping forward in drive until his bumper nudged against Sam's shins. Taken slightly off-guard, Sam placed his hands on the scout's black-and-yellow hood for support. He stared into the vacant driver's seat as the Autobot revved his engine, suddenly resigned to the fact that he had little hope of winning an argument with a sixteen-foot-tall robot.

"Oh, well… alright," he eventually conceded, straightening up as Bumblebee opened his driver-side door. "I guess a little rain never hurt anybody."

The scout grinned internally as Sam walked around to clamber into his seat. Once certain that the human was strapped in safely, Bumblebee eased on the gas and pulled out of the garage. Rain immediately began to cascade over his bonnet as he waited for a break in the traffic that clogged the main road outside, flowing across his metal in beaded streams like water over a duck's feathers. It wasn't a particularly unpleasant sensation, despite Sam's ranting. He dived through the gap between two passing cars, tyres skidding on the wet ground, and settled into the correct lane to the sound of blaring horns from behind.

Sam didn't say anything for a little while, sitting with arms folded and eyes fixed on the grey-tinted world outside the Autobot's windows. After several minutes of uneasy silence, Bumblebee activated his windscreen wipers to try and clear some of the rain. Sam watched them swipe from side to side, rearranging his expression into something close to optimism.

"So…" the human began, casting his gaze over the spotless dash as they followed the soaking road. "Where are we going?"

'– _my dear, don't you know? – the castle is your home now, so you can go anywhere you like –'_

Sam gaped at the Autobot insignia embossed onto the centre of the steering wheel. "Yeah, that…was no help at all," he replied, sinking in his seat. He returned his eyes to the mottled windows, false-cheerfulness quickly fading. "I don't mean to be a downer or anything, but… is there a reason you brought me out here?"

The scout paused reflectively for a moment, before once again adjusting his radio. _'– you know you can tell me anything, right?'_

Sam straightened up against the seatbelt, furrowing his brow. "Sure," he shrugged. "What're you getting at?"

Again, Bumblebee hesitated. It was only when Sam's curious expression morphed into a vaguely impatient scowl that he felt compelled to elaborate. _'– sometimes you meet someone who means a lot to you, only to find out in the end that it was never meant to be –'_

Suddenly understanding, Sam sank back again. "Oh right…_that,_" he muttered. "Forget it, 'Bee. I'm over it."

'– _you have to understand, I'd do anything for you – if there's anything you need, I won't be far away.'_

"I'm fine," the human reassured him. An awkward smile dawned on his face after a moment, however, and he gave a simple nod of the head. "But… thanks. Really, Bumblebee; thank you."


End file.
